


Coin-Operated Boy

by smolassassinchildx (smolassassinchild)



Series: Out of the Black--Old Series [2]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003), Firefly
Genre: Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-05-23
Updated: 2009-05-23
Packaged: 2017-10-03 05:48:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolassassinchild/pseuds/smolassassinchildx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Fixin' her is the whole point," she said, voice buzzing with excitement. "There's no point in leavin' anythin' broken"</p><p>Outtake from the 3rd Chapter of Out of the Black</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coin-Operated Boy

It probably said a lot about them, that even when _Galactica _was half-empty of its refugees and crew, Joe’s Bar kept pouring the drinks. What it said was likely that they were all pretty frakking miserable. Tyrol knew that’s the reason he was sitting on that particular barstool, working on downing his third glass of gin and trying to avoid the stares of people passing by.

He barely noticed the bright pink shirt sliding into his peripheral vision and sinking onto the barstool next to him. “Laird told me I’d find you down here.” He heard the familiar voice said. “I’m guessin’ it’s got somethin’ to do with those nice bruises y’got there.”  When he didn’t budge, he felt her finger prodding against his shoulder. “You wanna talk or you wanna sulk? I can do this all day.”

~*~  
_  
He was waiting in the landing bay when the shuttle from _Serenity_ arrived. Technically he had yet another ECO console to be fixing, but he could get to it later. In a few weeks, no one would need a Raptor or a Viper for anything again. Even from a distance, he could see Kaylee’s face light up like a child who’d gotten a puppy for her birthday as she found herself surrounded by the hustle and bustle on the deck; and frak it all her grin was infectious. He couldn’t help but smile as he crossed the deck to greet her._

\---

“Oh! What’s that?” It was the twenty-first time she’d asked the question, after the first seven he was determined to keep count. Kaylee sprinted ahead of him towards Viper long out of commission.

“That’s 289. Not much more than a shell anymore,” he said as he caught up with her, watching as she traced her fingers over the nose. “Canopy, wing, fuselage damage, and the hydraulics were practically shot. We cannibalized her for parts about two years ago.” He smiled as a fond memory flashed through his mind. “Actually, it was the parts from this ship that gave me the idea to build a ship from scratch.”

She turned towards him. Her breath had picked up; he could see it through her jumpsuit. “Y’ built a ship from scratch?”

“Not just me. A lot of people had a hand in getting her together, but yeah. She was a stealth ship, designed for speed and maneuverability, equipped with FTL, used her for recon…” He gave a wistful sigh. “She was a good ship. She destroyed trying to take out one of the Cylon ships.”

When he spoke the words aloud he could feel his voice drop; never once had he imagined that he’d actually miss life back then. Things had been so much more clean-cut - humans good, cylons evil. Except Boomer… alright so maybe it hadn’t even been clean-cut, but the lines were a little less blurry than they were now.

At some point in his reverie, Kaylee had grabbed his hand and turned him to face her. “Galen, I wanna fix her,” she said nodding towards the Viper for emphasis.

“Why?” he asked.

“Whaddya mean ‘why’?” she fired back, sounding almost insulted.

He turned to look at the ship. “We’re shutting down. There’s really no need for her in the universe any more. What’s the point of trying to fix her?”

“Fixin’ her is the whole point,” she said, voice buzzing with excitement. “There’s no point in leavin’ anythin’ broken. C’mon, Galen.” She took both of his hands in hers, pulling him closer. “Let’s fix her together.”

He just couldn’t say no to that smile. “Alright.”

~*~

Sighing, he turned his head towards her and saw that she was smiling that damned infectious smile that she was always smiling. “Sorry, Kaylee. It’s been a rough day.”

“I got eyes,” she said. “Looks like I missed a good fight. Wanna fill a girl in?”

“Not much to say.” He cast an eye to his drink, and then back to the girl. “Well… I found out my son… wasn’t my son. So I found the guy who frakked Cally and kicked his ass.”

She leaned in close, her shoulder bumping against his as the grin never once left her face. “Hope that wang ba dan looks worse than you right now.”

“Damn right, he does,” Tyrol replied with something akin to a laugh. After a pause and a deep breath he pushed the glass aside. “How do you do that?”

“Do what?” she asked, leaning her elbow on the bar as she looked at him.

“Make me feel like my life isn’t spiraling out of control?”

The cheerful smile that graced her lips slowly transformed into a mischievous, eager grin. “I dunno,” she said as she leaned in for a kiss. “But I’m thinkin’ of a couple ways y’ can thank me.”

Closing the distance between them, he threaded his fingers through her hair. “Engine room, this time?” he mumbled against her lips.

She hummed an affirmative with a contented sigh.

\---

Kaylee lay on her side, propped up on her elbow as she watched a bead of sweat trickle it’s way over Galen’s cheekbone. She loved doing it in the engine room. The heat and the humidity given off by the machinery and the rhythmic music of all the parts working together, it all just set the perfect mood. Someday she’d have to take him over to _Serenity_’s engine room and do it there.

“What’cha thinkin’ ‘bout?” she asked, leaning her head against his chest.

He gave a sigh. “There’s a lottery tomorrow- planet assignments. Not really sure what to think about it.”

“You mean, you’re leavin’?” She impulsively slid her arm around him, as though it would somehow magically keep him there.

She felt his hand running through her hair as he spoke again. “I don’t think we’re leaving _Galactica _for another week or two… but yeah.”

Kaylee rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, swearing under her breath. “Da xiang bao zha shi de la du zi.” Glancing back towards Galen, she saw the bemused look in his eye. “Sorry.”

“No, no. Not that,” he said. “I’m just… wondering. What do you even see in me?” There was a tone in his voice that she couldn’t quite stand. It was so full of self-doubt and coming from him… she would’ve smacked him if she hadn’t been basking in the post-sex exhaustion.

“Whaddya mean? Y’re smart,  y’re the kinda guy who fights for his honor, and from what I hear ‘round the deck, y’re a hell of a good leader. And y’re one of the best mechanics I’ve ever met. Better’n me, and that’s sayin’ somethin’. What’s not to like?” Kaylee grinned draping a bare leg across him. “Plus the Cylon thing is shiny.”

He grinned as he slid his arms around her waist. “You know you’re the only one who thinks that a good thing.”

“Well then they’re all kinds of stupid,” she said tracing her fingers over his chest.

The room filled with the sound of her sharp intake of breath as the most brilliant idea jumped into her head. “Ya don’t have t’ go down to the planets!” she exclaimed, bolting upright. “Ya can come stay on Serenity with us.” Her eyes shone with excitement as she watched him bring himself up to a sitting position.

“What?”

“Yeah. I got room in my bunk, ‘specially if we’re gonna be sharin’ a bed. We’d be sharin’ a bed right?” she asked with the mischievous eagerness from earlier.

He blinked as though it would help him process the information better. “Well, I guess. I mean-”

“Ya gotta leave _Galactica_, right? Why should it matter where ya go?”

“I don’t know, Kaylee. I need some time to think about this. This is kind of sudden and-” He never got to finish. The eagerness in her voice had turned into an eager kiss, and the way her body was pressed against his, she knew that the blood was not running in the direction of his brain. “Let’s go talk to Captain Reynolds then,” he said with a hazy voice, leaning back in for another kiss.

 

\--End--


End file.
